I’ve been looking forward to Pitch Perfect 2 since the credits rolled at the end of the first film. In the age of Glee’s decline, not much was expected of the acapella based comedy, but there was no denying the how the actress brought the humorous script to life and the genuine thrill of the musical performances. Pitch Perfect was an unexpected success and the sequel give you more of what you loved from the first.

The Bellas, after a very revealing wardrobe malfunction, are harshly punished by the administration and have to fight for their right to sing sans music accompaniment on an international stage. Your favorites from the previous installment appear: a sing off, Bumper, Rebel Wilson, Beca’s (Anna Kendrick) embarrassing herself, and the off-color acapella commentators. Although PP2 contains quite a few big laughs and some surprises, it doesn’t feel as full as its predecessor. It’s missing the emotional tie that made us care about Beca (if no one else) to begin with. Her struggle to achieve her dream of becoming a globe trotting DJ while her father wanted something more traditional for her is supplanted with an internship at a record label (headed by the hilarious Keegan-Michael Key of Key & Peele fame) that goes very well without any major effort on her part. Her relationship with Jesse is barely there.

Instead of characters to care about, we get caricatures. Chloe’s (Brittnay Snow) node problem and deep bass voice seem to be worries of the past, Cynthia-Rose is still fondling her aca-mates, and Lily is still mumbling. To round out the aforementioned weird behavior duo we have Florencia "Flo" Fuentes, a Guatemalan immigrant who constantly checks Chloe’s First World ProblemsTM with very scary issues that deserve more seriousness or grossly personal problems. None of this would bother me so much if were given any humanity or dimensionality to tie the humor to, but these characters remain as 2D as the screen you see them on. “Fat Amy” does get her own romantic storyline, it’s played strictly for laughs and without any emotional depth--I’m not expecting a drama, but I need something to sink my teeth into!

The musical performances of The Bellas and their rivals Das Sound Machine are very entertaining, applause worthy affairs. It’s still heartwarming to see a group woman leading lives and overcoming conflicts without having to be images of perfection, but overall PP2 falls short.